


The devil wears pink

by mezzosesu



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Deal with a Devil, Gen, challenge prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 08:00:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15529728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mezzosesu/pseuds/mezzosesu
Summary: Grillby wants to be a good uncle, no matter what it takes. (Written for a 24-hour challenge prompt)





	The devil wears pink

**Author's Note:**

> Another challenge prompt set by Agraulisvanillae. The prompt was "Deal with the devil", and had a 500 min word count.

Grillby rolled his shoulders as he strolled through the bright, rocky terrain of Hotland. He looked up at the horizon, eyes instantly catching sight of the CORE looming in the distance like a mechanical giant. It was visible from almost anywhere in Hotland, and if it couldn’t be seen it was definitely felt. Truthfully, Grillby found that he quite liked the stifling atmosphere, and if he didn't have his restaurant he would've moved back here in a heartbeat. He missed the hiss of steam that wafted out of the open grates in the sidewalk curbs and the mandatory hot waves every Sunday when Ice Wolf took a day off. He could almost even say he missed the puzzles, finding them much more manageable and straightforward to figure out than the ones in Snowdin. It was almost great to be back here in his home place, and he would've been eager to stay and enjoy it longer if he weren't here for business. **  
**

Grillby had an appointment today, and it wasn't wise to keep the devil waiting.

He opened his umbrella as he neared the familiar gloomy entrance and held it above his head. It was a precaution really; it was near impossible for water to exist in Hotland on its own, but who knew what inhabited the ceiling here.

He stepped inside, pulling his jacket closer to him. His flames led the way as Grillby advanced down the hallway carefully, and he could hear a soft  _skitter skitter_  as tiny legs scraped over the walls around him, too fast to catch with his eye. A wave of dread brushed over Grillby’s SOUL as he realized this very likely meant that  _she_  knew he was here already, and the chiming of tiny laughter coming from further in the area confirmed it. He was hoping that there would've been a chance that she forgot all about him and maybe was out somewhere else, terrorizing the population and spreading havoc, but he wasn't quite that lucky.

_Okay, remain calm, don't show her any vulnerability. Back straight, head up, and walk forward._

The end of the hallway spread out into a large circular room, brightly lit with dozens of candles hanging from the walls and in a large circle on the floor. Grillby walked inside, flickering his eyes around the room to spot the monster of the evening. She was usually so prompt with her meetings, but there was no sign of her anywhere?

Grillby had been so preoccupied with searching that he didn't notice his steps becoming sluggish, and it wasn't until his body slowed to a stop that he realized he had been caught in a large web. Not just any web, but--

“ _Ahuhuhu~_  Welcome, deary.”

 _Her_  web.

Muffet descended upside-down from the ceiling on a thick rope of spider silk, all three pairs of her arms working in tandem to keep her from falling. As she got closer to the floor, a large group of spiders appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, carrying a chair, a small table, and a tea set. They set the items down in the middle of the circle of candles before disappearing, and Muffet landed gracefully onto the chair. She brushed off her bright pink bow with the top pair of her arms, examining Grillby as she used the other two to pour tea.

“Can I offer you something to drink?” She daintily pushed a small teacup towards Grillby, and he felt his flames stir in alarm as it approached the edge of the table.

He struggled to move his body, finding it difficult to even shake his head with how tightly the silk wrapped around his body to the back of his head. “...No thanks.”

“Oh?” Muffet asked, tilting her head. She regarded him coldly over the top of her own cup as she took a small sip. Grillby knew Muffet wasn’t a fan of him, and the feeling was mutual. “Well, I suppose you are a man of business, aren’t you, Grillby? Well, what will it be? What is worth giving up your  _soul_?”

“...It’s my niece. She’s in high school, goes to the one in Hotland. Lately, the other kids around her have been…” He trailed off, knowing that Muffet would be able to fill in the blanks. This was her fault anyway. She had given a teenager a beautiful silken scarf for saving one of her spiders. The scarf had been interlaced with a few cheap, shiny beads along the edges, and when they showed up in school the next day, suddenly every kid needed a scarf of their own.

Muffet giggled, a high trilling sound that disturbed his flames. “Ahuhu, I didn’t know that Fuku had such good taste~. You do know how much something like that costs, right?”

Grillby nodded; of course, he knew. It was hard not to notice the vacant eyes of the people who dealt with Muffet in the past, and even harder to ignore their empty wallets when they came into his bar. He knew it was cheap for her to make, but like everything else, she hiked it up to an exorbitant price.

“Can you even afford this? I know it’s harder for you to gain customers in that desolate place--”

“...I do quite well for myself, thank you,” Grillby said, body popping and hissing with latent irritation.

Muffet leaned forward with intrigue. “Is that so? Hmm…” She rested her head against one hand as she scrunched her eyes closed deep in thought. The rest of her hands busied themselves: one tapped its fingers against the table rhythmically, another curled fingers into her hair, and the others settled for crossing against one another. It was surreal to watch, but Grillby was used to it, and he knew that it was a worrying sign. He said something he shouldn’t have and got Muffet Thinking; nothing good ever happened from that.

Finally, she sighed and opened her eyes, humming happily. “Deary~, I have a deal for you.”

Grillby felt his SOUL drop. “...Can I refute it?”

“Not if you want to live, ahuhu.”

 _God damn it._  “...The terms?”

“You’ll get what you want for your darling niece, and I’ll get what I want.”

“...Which is?”

Muffet grinned, displaying her fangs. “I want to sell my goods in your restaurant.”

Grillby growled lowly. He didn’t want her items in his shop. They were too sweet, too shimmery, and extremely too expensive. If his customers got wind of spider produce in his place, they might not come back. This could ruin him, but what choice did he have?

“...Fine,” He agreed, much to Muffet’s excitement. She clapped two hands together and squealed slightly.

“Perfect~. With your customers, I’ll be bound to make a good profit.” Muffet stood, walking over to the other side of the table and stopped in front of Grillby.  “I’ll send the scarf over to Fuku’s house as soon as I’m done--along with your well wishes of course--and you’ll go back to your restaurant with some of my merchandise. I’ll have one of my spiders help you find your way as far as Waterfall--”

Grillby scoffed at that.  _Help_ , his ass. More like trail behind him and make sure he didn’t toss everything in the first available lava pit.

“--And then I’ll check back up with you at the end of the week. Let’s shake on it.”

He looked down at her, ready to tell her he couldn’t shake when he was bound against his will, only to find that his arms had been freed already. After flexing a few times to get his magic flowing again, Grillby held out his hand and took Muffet’s small one carefully. They shook, and Grillby felt an ice-cold pang go through his SOUL as the deal was struck.

“Okay, wait here and I’ll get everything you need. Don’t look so glum, dear, just think of how happy Fuku will be with her favorite uncle after she pulls out that spider silk,” She called over her shoulder as she left the room.

Grillby dropped his head into his hands. He knew she was right, but god, was this worth it?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


End file.
